TAP TO CALLParamus, New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer
Paramus, New Jersey occupies 11-square miles of land in the heart of Bergen County. Paramus is approximately 14 miles from New York City, surrounded by the communities of Ridgewood, Washington Township, Rochelle Park, Maywood, Emerson, Oradell, River Edge and Fair Lawn. In 2006, Paramus boasted 26,548 residents (U.S. Census) with a median household income of $76,918, well-above New Jersey’s median household income of $55,146. The median value of homes was also well-above New Jersey’s average and over 90% of the borough’s residents own their own home.
Paramus is a major regional shopping destination for those in the New York metropolitan area. As New Jersey has a lower sales tax than New York overall, and because New Jersey does not tax clothing, Paramus malls and shopping centers such as the Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus Park Mall and Bergen Town Center are especially popular with people from New York City and Westchester, NY.
Bergen County is one of the last remaining counties in the nation where “blue laws” that prohibit Sunday shopping are still enforced. Paramus residents may purchase only essentials on Sundays because most retail stores are closed. The blue laws have been in effect in Bergen County since the 1950s, and they were designed to give residents one day of rest from the traffic jams, noise pollution and accidents that plague county roadways. The congestion is most apparent in Paramus where the county’s largest shopping malls are located, along the intersecting highways of Route 4 and Route 17. Sundays are the only day where motorists in Paramus do not experience traffic congestion.
A large network of major highways serve Paramus including Interstate 80, Interstate 95, the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey state routes 4, 17, and 208. The borough’s major arteries carry heavy traffic every day except Sunday. According to the National Highway Safety Administration, twenty-six people were fatally injured in vehicle crashes in Bergen County during 2009. Eight fatalities occurred as the result of vehicle accidents involving alcohol-impaired drivers, and twelve pedestrians were killed as a result of vehicle accidents. There was one fatal injury in 2008 from a car accident in Paramus; a drunken driver was involved according to City-Data. Since commercial traffic is prohibited on the Garden State Parkway, all commercial vehicular traffic uses Route 17 to travel through Bergen County. Through the years these tractor-trailers have caused several accidents.
Located on a 65-Acre campus in Paramus, the Bergen Regional Medical Center is the largest hospital in New Jersey, specializing in long-term care, behavioral health care and acute care to the Bergen County community. The Paramus Ambulance Corps is the primary provider of basic life support and emergency medical services to the Borough of Paramus, handling calls for medical emergencies, injuries and motor vehicle accidents.
The structure of New Jersey’s court system is among the most simple in the nation. The state has only the following types of courts: Municipal courts, Tax Court, state Superior Court, which includes the trial courts, an Appellate Division and the New Jersey Supreme Court. The Paramus Borough Municipal Court is held at Jockish Square, Paramus, NJ 07652. The Municipal courts in New Jersey are considered courts of limited jurisdiction, having responsibility for motor vehicle and parking tickets, minor criminal offenses and municipal ordinance offenses. Paramus also utilizes the trial court in Bergen County located at the Bergen County Justice Center, 10 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601. Both criminal and civil cases are heard at the trial court level. Typical civil cases involve contracts, personal injury, automobile accidents, employment and discrimination cases.
